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Chapter 64
Chapter 64: A False Victory
Jim came quickly and left just as quickly.
The surrendered soldiers taken away by Londo had already been formally named the Northern New Army’s Fourth Regiment. Most of them had once been Jim’s subordinates.
However, Oswald had no intention of giving Jim any special treatment. He directly ordered Jim to go to the Fourth Regiment as an ordinary soldier. If Jim truly had any ability, then he could prove it to him.
Before leaving, Jim bowed toward the Marquis Estate. After bidding farewell to the past, it was as though he had welcomed the dawn of a new life. He rode his horse north toward Broad Valley City with a light heart.
W̃ ë ḃ n̊о v è l̈ Ë n̂ um a
After Jim left, Ice City welcomed a new guest—Marquis Barton.
It was difficult to imagine that this man, whose skin was black with a reddish tint and red with a blackish tint, who grinned happily the moment he saw Oswald and looked no different from an old farmer, was actually a noble Marquis.
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Especially when his whole body was filthy and he stood at the entrance of the Duke’s Estate with a lamb in his arms. He looked exactly like a poor relative from the countryside who had come to seek shelter.
“Oswald!”
After tossing the lamb to Luna, Barton spread his large hands and hugged Oswald tightly. While laughing loudly, he kissed Oswald on the cheeks again and again.
This was the etiquette of the pastoral region. It represented Barton’s recognition of Oswald as their dear leader.
W̃ е̌ b́ no v̊еl̀ _En̄úm а_
Fortunately, Marquis Barton usually brushed his teeth. Otherwise, Oswald might have been knocked unconscious on the spot by the mutton smell on him.
At the side, Luna held the lamb and drooled. Barton slapped her on the head and said, “Little Luna, this is not for eating. This is a dwarf iron-plate sheep. When it grows up, it can be used as a mount. It runs faster than a horse in the mountains!”
After completing the greeting etiquette, Oswald directly pulled Barton into the estate.
“Come, Marquis, this way.”
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The main purpose of Marquis Barton’s visit to Ice City this time was to report to Oswald on the trade situation with the Dwarven Kingdom.
The Dwarven Kingdom was located in the northwest of the continent, bordering the Kingdom’s Northern Territory and Western Territory, as well as the Demon Kingdom.
W е̇ b̆n̈ о̂v̈.ẽ l Е n̄ uṁ а
As a long-tested old slave-owning nation, the rulers of the dwarves did not much care about major events around the world. They were also happy to see humans and the demon race attack each other.
Last time, Oswald had taken advantage of the undead crisis that broke out in the Western Territory to send troops to plunder a large amount of goods and wealth. Most of these things had been handed to Marquis Barton to exchange with the dwarves for livestock and weapons.
As a middleman, Marquis Barton had also earned quite a bit. He had exchanged them for more than seven hundred warhorses and more than one thousand sets of armor for Oswald.
“First of all, I went over to the dwarves and took a look. They really do not have any extra warhorses. But they have a lot of iron-plate sheep, so they asked whether we could use iron-plate sheep for trade in the future.”
After lunch, Barton patted his belly and followed Oswald into a lounge.
After listening, Oswald lifted his teacup and nodded.
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The Dwarven Kingdom had many mountains and hills. Iron-plate sheep, which could climb mountains and cross ridges, were indeed suited to the local environment. At the same time, iron-plate sheep were a good deal shorter than horses, so the dwarves could take them into mines to work.
However, although both were mounts, iron-plate sheep were not suitable for combat on the Demon Kingdom’s flat snowfield terrain.
“Purchase some in moderation. First form a two-thousand-man mountain cavalry unit and see how effective it is.”
Marquis Barton quickly wrote it down with paper and pen. His posture while using the pen was very awkward, and even Oswald could not tell what kind of ghostly scribbles he was making.
“Mm, good. Another thing is that the dwarf nobles want to exchange luxury goods with us, but the commoners and slaves are only willing to exchange for grain.”
There was no shortage of luxury goods... Oswald felt somewhat troubled. Since the dwarves did not have extra warhorses, after buying the iron-plate sheep, he seemed to have no need to purchase large quantities of armor.
En̆ ū m̆ ӑ
One had to know that the mountains around Broad Valley City also produced iron ore. Once blacksmith workshops rose in large numbers, they would be completely capable of self-sufficiency.
He had no intention of using grain to exchange for anything other than horses, except...
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“Marquis, next time you go, ask them whether they are willing to sell slaves.”
“They probably do.” Barton blurted out the answer, then suddenly clutched his stomach and burst into loud laughter. “When I went last time, they even wanted to sell me a female dwarf, saying I could experience some exotic charm.”
“In the end, that woman had a beard even longer than mine, hahahaha.”
“Good. Good!”
Ѐ númǎ..i d
Oswald’s expression lifted. He had finally found the breakthrough point in this game.
The Northern Territory was caught between the demon race and the royal family. In terms of overall strength, it was inferior to both sides. Even if he could wrestle one side down barehanded, the other side would inevitably take advantage of the opening.
This was not only his predicament. It was also the situation of the entire Northern Territory.
But if the Dwarven Kingdom could sell dwarf slaves to the Northern Territory, and he then resettled those dwarves in the vast mountain forests between Starfall City and Broad Valley City, allowing them to form a population over the years and integrate into the Northern Territory...
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When the time came, he would be able to raise another dwarf army. After that, whether he headed north to resist the demon race or marched south to attack the royal family, the Northern Territory would no longer be constrained.
“Marquis, I will leave this matter to you. As long as the dwarves are willing to sell people, whether they want luxury goods or grain, we can trade. Buy as many as they have!”
W̃ӗb̀n о v̂e̊ l Еn̄ úḿа̀
So it was not female dwarves he wanted. Barton scratched his beard. When the Duke had been so excited just now, he had thought the Duke had a taste for that sort of thing.
But doing business was a good thing. He liked being a middleman the most.
Barton laughed cheerfully and said as he wrote the matter down, “All right. After I return, I will immediately arrange for people to go to the Dwarven Kingdom.”
“There is one more thing. How many warhorses can you provide this year? I need to build up the cavalry force.”
Oswald did not want to follow some tower-defense style. He needed cavalry. He needed the powerful field-combat capability of cavalry.
Defending behind city walls would not consume much of the enemy’s effective strength. It would only let this war continue forever. If he wanted to build a great peaceful nation, he had to possess the fearless spirit of Emperor Wu of Han—if the enemy could come, then so could I.
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But just as he had expected, Marquis Barton let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his rough fingers together in difficulty.
“Ah, Duke, I know you do not lack the money to buy them, but let me be honest with you. The Western Pastoral Region really cannot gather that many warhorses.”
“Roughly how many can you provide?”
“At most, a little over sixteen hundred. You know the situation too. Our losses in that great battle were far too severe...”
The two of them fell silent facing each other. Oswald’s eyes softened, and he gently patted the back of Barton’s hand.
“I know your Western Pastoral Region is also having a hard time. How about this? Next year, I will send people to build a large city for you, so that your women and children will have a warm place to spend the winter from now on.”
Ê ǹú m̃а
...
This battle ultimately ended with the Northern Territory admitting defeat.
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Eileen stayed up the entire night before finally picking out the three thousand gold coins in the worst condition and handing them over to the Eastern Territory’s army.
Duke Dale had represented the King and defeated the Northern Army. When the news returned to the Royal Capital, the nobles were greatly excited. With the unseen people behind the scenes adding fuel to the flames, Duke Dale’s name quickly spread through every street and alley.
Everyone knew that a remarkable great figure had appeared in the Kingdom. As if descending from nowhere, he had defeated that brutal and rude Duke Oswald. The title of the strongest Duke in the Kingdom would also change hands.
The nobles cheered and celebrated, but King Frank’s mood was a mixture of joy and worry.
Е̇ n̄ ŭm̀ а̀
What made him happy was that the mutual restraint between the Northern Territory and the Eastern Territory could make the Kingdom more stable. What worried him was that even now, he had still not received a handwritten letter from Oswald.
The two of them could have become allies, yet because of Diana’s meddling, they had lost trust in each other. After many days of investigation, he discovered that this younger sister of his had truly made no small number of petty moves.
In the current situation, to put it nicely, Duke Dale had represented the King and won the noble war. But Frank himself knew better than anyone that the one Duke Dale truly served was his wife, Queen Barbara.
Moreover, Duke Dale’s sudden rise to fame was not a good thing for him either. If the nobles pushed Duke Dale forward as the leader of the noble faction, it would only restrain his royal power.
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What exactly should I do...
Late at night, Frank stood by the window of the palace bedroom, gazing at the night view of the Royal Capital.
W̄ е b n̄о v́ e ľ Еn̂ ŭm̃ а
Amid the darkness, there was one especially bright area.
That was the banquet where the nobles were celebrating for Dale. His Queen Barbara was also there celebrating for the Duke.
This throne truly is lonely. Frank felt as though he could hear the sound of the nobles clinking glasses and their cheerful laughter.
In the past, he had never understood why his father would always raise a cup and leave whenever he appeared at banquets. Now he understood. A so-called King was a solitary figure without friends or family.
After thinking for a long time, Frank finally decided to write a letter to Luna, hoping that through her, he could ease his relationship with Duke Oswald.
On this night in the Royal Capital, Frank was not the only one unable to sleep.
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Inside an office deep within the Church, Paul held an oil lamp and illuminated the relationship charts on the wall for Archbishop John.
“I can guarantee, Archbishop, that even when Duke Oswald’s soldiers were forming human pyramids, they stood more neatly than Duke Dale’s army. At the very least, during the half hour I spent in the military camp, they truly did not move at all.”
“Judging from this, whether in military discipline or physical quality, the Northern Army far surpasses the Eastern Army. Even if the Eastern Army’s forces were several times larger than theirs, the Northern Army, relying on the city walls to defend, had no possibility of defeat.”
John took out several pieces of gold foil and gathered the light, reflecting it onto the wall. This gold foil was something he had shaken out from the envelope Oswald had sent...
Paul was somewhat speechless. Archbishop, you are refusing to use magic to light the room just so you can show off, are you not?
The yellow light illuminated a name—Annie.
Е n um̆ å.і̄d̂
These days, John had already investigated nearly half a year of the Princess’ movements and all her interpersonal relationships.
Then, he obtained an unexpected gain.
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Annie, the daughter of the Marquis of the eastern part of the Northern Territory. Last winter, because of political struggle, her entire family had been imprisoned by Oswald.
According to Annie herself, she had secretly escaped from the Northern Territory by a lucky coincidence. Then, in the Royal Capital, she received the help of Hero Thorne, Saintess Maria, and Lilith, the Knight Commander’s daughter, and thus became friends with them.
Coincidentally, not long before Annie appeared in the Royal Capital, Princess Diana had, for unknown reasons, sent a considerable group of Royal Capital deathsworn to the Northern Territory. Their whereabouts remained unknown to this day.
Even more coincidentally, before the Princess sent out those deathsworn, she had never gone out. According to the servants of the palace, during that period, the only people the Princess had seen were Thorne and Lilith, who had entered the palace to offer congratulations during the King’s wedding.
Еn̆u m̂ а ._іd
They clearly had no prior contact with Annie, yet their relationship was not shallow. As for Maria, she had also suddenly made a trip to the Northern Territory before. Then came the current matter with the Princess, which had provoked an intense reaction from Oswald.
John slowly put away the gold foil. This group... Heh, it was truly interesting.
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Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
